Wild Beauty
by desertredwolf
Summary: "I know that it might be hard to hear, but there will be some people that do not understand you, and never will. If they cannot understand the wildness inside you, they will try to tame it and cage it." What starts off as a simple consulting job for Professor Minerva McGonagall, ultimately leads to a life-long friendship with a young French witch. Canon-divergent story. Oneshot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter (obviously). All rights go to respective owners.**

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 **Written for the competition "Your Journey Begins" at The Golden Snitch!**

Prompt: _Your task is to select one of the characters in the list below and pair them with the favorite character of one of your school mates._

 **Chosen Character:** Fleur Delacour

 **Book of Hope's Favorite Character:** Minerva McGonagall

Additional prompts used: _(word) strong, (setting) Beauxbatons, (song) 'Stronger' by Kelly Clarkson, (color) powder blue_

(Word count, not including title and author's notes: 2093)

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 **A/N — This story has been translated into German by Sarah Vampy. See my profile for details!**

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 **Wild Beauty**

"Ah, Deputy Headmistress McGonagall! Dieu merci! You are here! If you will follow me."

Minerva McGonagall arched an eyebrow, but swiftly followed the harried young witch dressed in Healer robes out of the Entrance Hall. This was the first time in over a decade that she had been asked to consult in a Transfiguration case outside of England, and it had greatly intrigued her.

If she were honest, the fact that she had been needed _immediately_ at Beauxbatons Academy of Magic was what had caused her to take the case. Beauxbatons viewed themselves as the premiere school for magic in Europe and did not ask for help lightly. Whatever had happened, it was clearly out of the ordinary and had been deemed an emergency.

Needless to say, she was intrigued.

"Miss—?" Minerva queried.

"Dubois," the witch said off-handedly over her shoulder, as she continued to lead the way through the grand and ornate corridors. Students poked their heads out of classrooms to see what was happening. When they saw who was there, they quickly disappeared back into their rooms — but Minerva heard the whispers. She pursed her lips in annoyance.

Some things never changed. No matter what school one attended, students were far too curious for their own good.

"Miss Dubois, I was told there was an emergency, but I have not yet received any details. May I ask what has happened?"

The Healer came to a stop outside of closed double doors. She looked at Minerva and sighed.

"There was an … _incident_ this morning," the Healer looked disgusted at this information. "No one knows what exactly happened, since the rest of the students involved are not speaking."

At this statement, Minerva allowed her displeasure to show and frowned. If they were _her_ students, they would have told her. She would have left no room for disagreement.

"A thirteen-year-old female student became upset and transformed," the Healer continued, not noticing or disagreeing with Minerva's annoyance. "She cannot change back. Headmistress Maxime wishes for this information to remain quiet, which is why she has not yet been transported to St. Mungo's."

"What do you mean 'transformed'?" Minerva questioned. "Surely a thirteen-year-old witch was not attempting an Animagus transformation!"

The Healer sneered, her face twisting unpleasantly, and suddenly Healer Dubois found her way straight to the top of Minerva McGonagall's shit list.

"This _girl_ is no witch. She's not even human," the Healer replied, her voice filled with scorn. "She's a Veela."

And with that declaration, Healer Dubois unlocked the doors and hurried away, leaving Minerva standing alone in the hallway.

Taking several deep breaths, Minerva took a minute in order to settle her emotions. The Healer was out of line — and also very wrong — but she could not deal with the witch's poor attitude at the moment. There was a student who needed her help.

Standing up a little straighter, she pushed open the double doors and briskly walked into the surprisingly well-lit room.

The room was unmistakably the Hospital Wing, if the amount of beds lining the walls and cabinets filled with potions and various remedies were anything to go by. A large stained glass window stretched along the far wall, splaying a variety of colors around the room. All of the beds were unoccupied — all of them, except the last one in the corner.

A young girl was curled up on the bed, crying loudly. Her dress had ripped along the back where large wings had clearly burst from her shoulder blades. The girl's beautiful long golden hair obscured most of her face, but Minerva could clearly see that it had transformed as well.

Minerva felt her heart break for the child laying on the bed before her. How dare they treat her like this! Minerva became angry at the thought of the girl's treatment, which only grew as the torn powder blue fabric of the dress caught her attention again. They hadn't even thought to repair her dress?!

She took a deep breath and carefully sat down on the edge of the bed next to the girl. The young witch had apparently not known that she had no longer been alone, as she jumped at Minerva's movements next to her.

"Hello," Minerva smiled sympathetically, "my name is Minerva McGonagall. I am the Deputy Headmistress at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where I also teach Transfiguration. I have been asked to assist you in the process of reversing your transformation."

The girl looked up, her eyes wide with fear. She shook her head and curled up tighter on the bed.

"Now, that is no way to approach this. You cannot stay like this forever," Minerva chided gently.

The girl closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. She stayed like that for a few minutes before opening her eyes again. She shook her head sorrowfully. Minerva looked at her and realized that this might be more involved than she originally anticipated.

Pulling out her wand, Minerva stood up and began casting warding spells around the bed. "You know," Minerva said nonchalantly, "they didn't tell me your name. They just said you were a Veela."

The girl began to grow angry and fire flickered to life in her hands, but Minerva pretended to not notice. She needed the girl focused on changing back and if channeling anger helped, then that is what they would do.

"I want to get to know you, however," she continued speaking. "But I would need to know your name and that cannot happen until you change back. I am done warding the area and I would like to assist you in reversing the transformation. If I may?"

The girl nodded and Minerva gently held the tip of her wand to the girl's forehead. She quietly chanted in Latin and a golden glow settled over the girl's body.

"Now I need you to focus on changing back," Minerva said, slipping into professor mode. "This is similar to reversing the Animagus transformation. You must focus on what it felt like to be you. Remember your family, your friends. What are your likes, dislikes, and fears? Remember your happiest memories. And most importantly: Relax. Do you understand?"

The girl nodded again and closed her eyes. Minerva began to chant in Latin, the golden halo around the girl slowly pulsing to life. She was not sure how long they were like that, five minutes or two hours, but eventually the light around the girl flared. The wings on the young witch's back slowly vanished and her face changed to look more human than bird.

The light faded and the girl opened her eyes. The young witch turned to look behind her and, upon not seeing wings, cried out in delight. She launched herself at Minerva and clung to her in a tight hug.

"Merci beaucoup, Madame McGonagall! Merci beaucoup!"

Smiling at the young girl's obvious joy, Minerva returned the hug.

"You are more than welcome, Miss …?"

"Delacour! Fleur Delacour!" the young witch replied.

"You are more than welcome, Miss Delacour, but that was all you." At the girl's questioning look, Minerva explained. "The spells I used were simply guides to make the process easier. The power behind the transformation came from you. You have the makings of becoming a very talented and strong witch."

Fleur cast her head down and mumbled a response.

"Please speak up, Miss Delacour," Minerva instructed.

Fleur looked up, her eyes shining with angry tears. "But I'm not, right?" she spat. "I'm not a witch. I'm a mistake. That's what everyone here thinks. I don't belong here."

"Nonsense," Minerva snapped. "Let me guess. Your mother is a full Veela and that was your first transformation?"

"Yes," Fleur responded uncertainly. "Why does that matter?"

"Well, first that means you are only half-Veela. But you cannot be half-witch. You either are a witch, or you are not. And you better believe, Miss Delacour, that you are a witch! A muggle could not have reversed the transformation. Merlin, most of this school could not have reversed the transformation the way you did!"

"But," Fleur sat on the edge of the bed, "don't Veelas transform all the time?"

"Full Veelas do, yes. But you are not full Veela. Witches with Veela blood are rarely able to make a partial transformation, let alone a full one. They mostly just inherit the Veela Allure from their mother. You, however, made the transformation _and_ also reversed it. That speaks to your magical abilities, not your heritage."

Fleur nodded slowly and seemed to settle down. "Will this happen all the time?"

Minerva thought a moment before responding. "I believe it will. But I also believe you will learn to control it. The first one is always the hardest. But do you want to tell me what caused this to happen in the first place?"

Fleur looked down and glared at the ground.

"Some … some of the boys a couple years above me were saying _things_ about my younger sister and me. They made me mad," she whispered.

Minerva felt the anger bubble up inside of her again, but pushed it aside. "I will be speaking to Madame Maxime about their behavior. It is entirely unacceptable."

Minerva briskly stood up and waved her wand over Fleur, magically repairing her dress and weaving her hair into a single braid. Fleur softly touched the braid and looked up at Minerva with a small smile.

"Merci beaucoup, Madame McGonagall."

"You are more than welcome, Miss Delacour. I know that it might be hard to hear, but there will be some people that do not understand you, and never will," Minerva gently explained. "If they cannot understand the wildness inside you, they will try to tame it and cage it. Find someone who appreciates the beauty of wild things like you."

At this, Fleur sat up little taller. "I will, Madame McGonagall," she replied.

"And also remember," Minerva added, "you will always have a friend at Hogwarts."

Minerva walked out of the room, determined to hunt down those upper year boys and the nasty Healer. She was so focused on her new mission, that she never heard the soft voice speak as she closed the Hospital Wing doors behind her.

"Merci … Minerva."

.oOo.

Over the course of the next few years, Minerva McGonagall visited Beauxbatons several times.

During each visit, she taught Fleur advanced Transfiguration spells and techniques to help with her transformation. By the time Fleur came of age, she had the Veela transformation fully under control.

That same year, Minerva was overjoyed to see Fleur and her sister at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament, and was immensely proud of her during the competition. She felt free to cheer for her during the Tasks — as long as she gave the other Champions the same amount of praise, of course. She was a Professor of the Host school; she couldn't appear to be biased.

(Even though everyone knew she was.)

.oOo.

After the Tournament ended, the next time Minerva saw Fleur was on the battlefield at Hogwarts. She was back-to-back with Charlie Weasley, effortlessly taking down dark creatures and fighting Death Eaters in perfect unison with the dragon tamer.

During the fight, Fleur easily shifted into her full Veela form and cast multiple fireballs at a group of incoming giants. The giants were severely injured and became distracted, making it easier for a small contingent of nearby Order members to take them down. Shifting back just a smoothly, Fleur then cast a rapid series of defensive and offensive spells. Charlie shouted something at Fleur, which caused her to laugh and smile at him.

Despite the Dark and lethal spells flying across the battlefield, Minerva felt a twinge of happiness for her student. It looked like, in the end, she had found someone who appreciated her for who she was and loved her wild beauty.

.oOo.

Three years after The Battle of Hogwarts, Minerva found herself crying in happiness as she held Fleur and Charlie's newborn daughter.

"What is her name?" the ex-Professor asked.

Charlie grinned and replied, "Brigitte. Brigitte Minerva Weasley."

Smiling at Minerva's stunned expression, Fleur explained.

"Brigitte means "Inner Strength," which is something we also want her to remember. No matter what comes her way, she will be strong. And Minerva, well, that's the name of the witch I look up to the most."

Tears rolled down Minerva's face and Fleur leaned over and lightly kissed her once on both cheeks.

"Merci beaucoup, Minerva. For everything."

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 **Additional Prompts Used:**

 _Year-Long Scavenger Hunt — Harry Potter Fanfiction Challenges_

Prompt: Write about receiving an inheritance that isn't money [25 points]

 _Anything from the Trolley? — The Golden Snitch_

Lick 'O' Rish Spiders: "If they cannot understand the wildness inside you, they will try to tame it and cage it. Find someone who appreciates the beauty of wild things like you." [5 points]


End file.
